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$2 label can deter car theft: NRMA

AAP, July 7, 2008

Australian car manufacturers are being urged to use a simple $2 security sticker to boost security against rebirthing rackets.

Australian car manufacturers are being urged to use a simple $2 security sticker to boost security against rebirthing rackets.

NRMA Insurance said self-voiding labels could be used to identify a stolen car in a similar fashion to a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).

The labels are cheap, and lower the chances of stolen cars being rebirthed because they cannot be removed, or otherwise tampered with, without being destroyed.

They also contain technology to combat forgery.

Only four international car manufacturers presently installed the stickers in their new cars, the NRMA said, adding that Hyundai was the only manufacturer using the labels on its entire fleet.

"Vehicle identification technology such as self-voiding labels, cost less than $2 and are one of the best defences against professional car theft, a problem which costs the Australian community $250 million every year," NRMA Insurance head of research Robert McDonald said in a statement.

"We'd like to see local manufacturers follow suit and play their part in tackling the issue of professional car theft in Australia."

Mr McDonald said improved vehicle identification was a major focus of the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council, as the majority of manufacturers still used aluminium compliance plates that could be easily removed by thieves.

The support for self-voiding labels came as NRMA Insurance released its annual Vehicle Theft Ratings, measuring the ability of a car to resist being broken into, stolen and re-birthed.

Subaru, BMW, Audi and Porsche emerged as the standout manufacturers in 2008, with all of their vehicles performing well in the rankings.